Warp stop-motion for looms.



PATENTED FEB. 2-1, 1905.

A. SCHOULER.

WARP STOP MOTION FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED'OOT. 9. 1903.

2 SHEETSSHBET l.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

A. SGHOULER.

WARP STOP MOTION FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. 1903.

UNTTEE STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT OEEicE.

ANDREW SCHOULER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

WARP STOP-IVIQTION-FOR LOOIVIS.

SPECIFICATION f m gp r of Le r P n 'N 783,142, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed October 9,1903. Serial No. 176,352.

1'0 (LU whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW SoHoULnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in arp Stop-Motions for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like figures on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to warp stop-motions for looms of that class wherein a vibrating feeler is employed which cooperates with detectors to stop the loom upon the breakage of any warp -thread. In most previous Warp stop-motions of this class either the detectors have been separate and located at some distance from the heddles or the heddles themselves have been made of flat stiff stripsof metal and have themselves constituted detectors.

In this invention 1 have associated the detectors in this class of warp stop-motion with the ordinary heddles of flexible material-such as twine, cord, or wire and provided means whereby when any warp-thread breaks the corresponding detector'comes into the path of the vibrating feeler and cooperates with said feeler to stop the loom.

In the form of my invention herein illustrated the feeler is mounted on and carried by the harness-frame and derives its movement from the movement of said frame in the formation of the shed, and the various heddles of flexible material are each capable of having a vertical movement with reference to the harness-frame and each have attached thereto a detector. As the harness-frame is moved to form the shed the tension of the warps when in one plane of the shed moves the heddles vertically with reference to the harness-frame and withdraws the detectors associated with said heddles from the path of the feeler. If,

however, any warp-thread is broken, the corresponding detector will not be withdrawn from the path of the feeler and will cooperate with said feeler to stop the loom.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a Vertical section of'so much of the loom as is necessary to show my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the harness-frames with the feeler attached thereto.

Figs. 3, 4:, and 5 are vertical sections on the line w m. Fig. 2, showing different positions of the feelers and detectors. Figs. 6 and 7 are details hereinafter described.

3 designates the breast-beam of the loom; 1,

' thelay, mounted on'the lay-sword 5; 6, the harness-cams, operating the usual harness levers or treadles 7, and 8 the harness-frames. These parts are or may be of any suitable or usual construction.

The harness-frames 8 carry the usual heddles 9, of twine, cord, or wire, each having the eye 10, through which a warp -thread passes. Associated with each heddle is a detector 11, which cooperates with a vibrating feeler 12 to stop the loom whenever any warpthread breaks. In this embodiment of my invention the heddles are made fast to the upper rail of the harness-frame and are suspended therefrom, and the detectors 11 are attached to the lower ends of the heddles. Each heddle has at its lower end an elongated eye 13, through which passes a cross-bar 14, carried by the harness-frame, said bar operating to hold the lower ends of the heddles in their proper positions. The feeler12isillustrated as a bar extending across the harness-frame and carried by the arms 15, rigid or integral with collars 60, loose upon the rock-shaft 16. Said collars are yieldingly connected to the rock-shaft by means of a spring 61, which is fast at one end to the collar and at the other end to the collar 61, fixedly secured to the shaft 16. Said shaft 16 is mounted to rock in bearings 17, carried by the harness-frame, so that the feeler moves up and down with said frame. Normally the detectors 11 stand in the path of movement of the feeler 12; but said detectors are withdrawn from said path by the tension of the warpthread as the feeler moves forward toward the detectors. In this embodiment of my invention the detectors are attached to the bottom of the heddles, and the feeler is situated at the bottom of the harness-frame, and therefore the withdrawing of the detectors occurs when the harness-frame is in its lowered position, and the warp-threads are carried into the lower plane of the shed. Any suitable means may be employed to cause the feeler to vibrate as the harness-frame is raised or lowered. As herein illustrated, the rock-shaft 16 has at one end thereof a segmental rack 18, which meshes with a stationary rack 19, whereby as the harness-frame is raised or lowered the feeler is vibrated. The upper end of the rack 19 plays in a guide 20, rigid with the harness-frame, said guide operating to hold the racks 18 and 19 in engagement with each other. The rack 19 is illustrated as being formed on the upper end of a member 22, which is pivoted to the floor, as at 23, whereby the rack is permitted to have a slight movement toward and from the front of the loom to accommodate anylateral movement of the harness-frame.

The parts thus far described operate as follows: As the harness-frame is moved'upwardly to carry the warp-threads into the upper plane of the shed the weight of the detectors 11 and the tension of the warp-threads holds the heddles in the straight vertical position, and the cooperation of the racks 18 and 19 swings the feeler away from the detectors, all as shown in Fig. 3. When the harness-frame is depressed to carry the warpthreads into the lower plane of the shed, the tension of the threads raises the heddles and carries the detectors above the feeler, as shown.

in Fig. 4, the flexibility of the heddles permitting this operation. At the same time the cooperation of the racks 18 and 19 swings the feeler into the position shown in Fig. 4. If all of the warp-threads remain intact, all of the detectors will be thus carried out of the path of the feeler; but if any warp-thread becomes disrupted the corresponding heddle will fail to be lifted when the harness-frameis depressed, and the corresponding detector 11 will therefore remain in its lowered position, as shown in Fig. 5, and in the path of the feeler 12. The feeler is therefore prevented from making its complete movement and is held in a midway position, (see Fig. 5,) in which position during the further downward movement of the harness-frame it cooperates with some suitable mechanism to stop the loom.

designates a stop-flange which is secured to the harness-frame and extends across the same and which holds the detectors in their proper position while the feeler is cooperating therewith.

The loom-stopping mechanism herein shown comprises a slide 34, carried by the member 22 and having at its upper end an offset 35, which stands in the path of the tail 36, rigid with the feeler 12, when said feeler is in its midway position, as shown in Fig. 5, said offset 35 being so shaped that when the feeler is in either of its extreme positions the tail 36 thereof does not engage said offset. The tail 36 is herein shown as being fast on a hub 67 of the collar 60. The slides 34 may be secured to the members 22in any suitable way, and, as herein shown, they each have slots through which pass the screws 37. The lower end of each slide 34 is secured to one arm ofa bell-crank 38, the other arm of which is connected by a link 39 and a bell-crank 40 with a rod 41, which normally supports in an inoperative position a pawl 42 and carried by the usual slide 43, to which the weft-fork is pivoted. The rod 41 is normally acted upon by a spring 44, which serves to yieldingly hold the rod in its elevated position and the pawl 'or dog 42 in its inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the device is as follows: I

If any warp-thread is broken atthe time that the harness-frames are depressed, the detector corresponding to said warp-thread will remain in its lowered position, as above explained, and in the path of the feeler. The feeler 12 is thus stopped in the position shown in Fig. 5, and during the further downward movement of the harness-frame the tail 36 of the feeler engages the oflset portion 35 of the slide and depresses the latter, thereby through the bell-cranks 38 40 and their connections lowering the rod 41 and allowing the pawl or dog 42 to drop into position to be engaged by the weft-hammer 50. (Shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1.) The slide 43 is therefore moved backwardly, and through any usual or suitable mechanism (not shown) the loom is stopped. The yielding connection between the feeler and rock-shaft 16 permits the feeler to remain in its midway position while the rockshaft completes its movement. As soon as the harness-frame is lifted again the tail of the feeler is withdrawn from the oifset arm 35 and the slide and rod 41-are both raised into their normal positions through the spring 44. l have herein shown this warp stop-motion applied to a loom for plain weaving; but it is obvious that with suitable modifications the invention could be applied to a fancy loom or a loom of any character. In the application of the invention herein shown each of the two harness-frames has a feeler and feeler-operating mechanism such as above described, and to simplify the structure I have illustrated both of slides 34 as connected to the bellcrank 38, the lower end of said slides each having a slot 53 therein to permit the slides to act independently.

While I have herein illustrated one simple mechanism for cooperating with the feeler to stop the loom, I do not wish to be limited to this exact construction, as it is obvious that various other mechanisms for effecting the same result may be used without in any way departing from the invention.

In the form of the invention herein illustrated the feeler is situated at the bottom of the harness-frame; but my invention would not be departed from if it were situated at the top of the frame and-the detectors were similarly located.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a loom, a harness-frame having a plurality of heddles, a separate detector suspended from each heddle, an oscillatory feeler movable with the harness-frame, and means to oscillate said feeler, said detectors normally being in the path of the feeler but being withdrawn therefrom by the tension of the warp-threads when the latter are in the lower plane of the shed. I

2. In a loom, a harness-frame having a plurality of heddles, a separate detector depending from each heddle, an oscillatory feeler carried by the harness-frame, means to oscillate the feeler, and mechanical devices cooperating with the feeler to stop the loom upon the breakage of any warp-thread.

3. In a loom, a harness-frame having a plurality of heddles,a separate detector depending from each heddle, a feeler carried by the harness-frame, means to oscillate said feeler by or through the movements of said harnessframe, and mechanical devices cooperating with the feeler to stop the loom upon the breakage of any warp-thread.

i. In a loom, a harness-frame, cord or twine heddles suspended from the upper rail thereof, the lower end of said heddles having a limited vertical movement with reference to the harness-frame, a separate detector attached to the lower end of each heddle, a feeler carried by the harness-frame, and means to vibrate the feeler by or through the movements of said harness-frame, said heddles and detectors being supported entirely by the warp-threads when the latter are in the lower plane of the shed, whereby the detectors are withdrawn from the path of the feeler at this time.

5. In a loom, a harness-frame, cord or twine heddles secured to the upper rail thereof, means to hold the lower ends of the heddles from lateral movement while permitting said ends to have a slight vertical movement, a detector secured to the lower end of each heddle, an oscillatory feeler carried by the harness-frame, means to oscillate said feeler by or through the movements of said harness-frame, and mechanical devices cooperating with the feeler to stop the loom upon the breakage of any warp-thread.

6. In a loom, a harness-frame, cord or twine heddles secured to the upper rail thereof, each heddle having a loop at its lower end, a rod carried by the harness-frame and passing through all of said loops, a detector suspended from the loop of each heddle, an oscillatory feeler carried by the harness-frame, and means to oscillate said feeler.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW SCHOULER.

Witnesses:

LOUIS 0. SMITH, J OHN O. EDWARDS. 

